Georgia

RELEVANT CASES

State Courts

Wilkerson v. City of Rome, 152 Ga. 762 (1922) (State constitution prohibits taxation for the support of any church, denomination, or sectarian institution maintained as a state institution. Reading of the Bible by school fails to show any violation of constitutional rights).

Bennett v. City of Lagrange, 153 Ga. 428 (1922) (Within Const. art. 1, § 1, par. 14, providing that no money shall be taken from the public treasury in aid of any church, sect, denomination, or sectarian institution, a "religious sect" is a body or number of persons united in tenets and constituting a distinct organization or party holding sentiments or doctrines different from those of other sects or people, and having a common system of faith).

Trustees of the First Methodist Episcopal Church v. City of Atlanta, 76 Ga. 181 (1886).

SECONDARY MATERIALS

State Attorney General Opinions

· 2000 Op. Atty. Gen. No. 2000-5. (Federally-funded Georgia Reading Challenge Program grants could not be made directly to churches and other sectarian institutions for the provision of after-school care, opportunities to improve student reading skills, and enhancement of student interest in reading. Attorney General Thurbert Baker, in an opinion prepared by Senior Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Allen, determined that such grants would violate the No Sectarian Institution provision of the Georgia Constitution.)

Books and Articles

3 GA. ST. U.L. REV. 19 (1987).

AMENDMENT EFFORTS

In January 2005, Governor Sonny Perdue reintroduced the "Faith and Family Services Amendment" (SR 49), which has 36 sponsors in the Senate. The bill is designed to bring the Georgia Constitution into line with the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. It would amend Georgia's Blaine Amendment by adding at the end "except as permitted or required by the United States Constitution, as amended." This amendment passed the Senate in 2004, but died in the House. If the bill receives a two-thirds majority in both chambers, it will be placed on the general election ballot in November 2006 and require a majority vote for enaction.

· Williams v. Georgia, 2005 WL 2156135 (N.D.Ga. Aug 11, 2005) (NO. 105-CV-0427) (involving Plaintiff parents seeking a voucher remedy of the state for its hindering their fundamental liberty rights as parents to control the education of their children, through a variety of restrictive policies. School system claims that Plaintiff’s request for funds for children to attend either religious or non-sectarian private schools would require the court to act outside the constitutional limitations of its judicial power).

REPEAL EFFORTS

See the Heritage Foundation website for a list of state contacts.